


Hysteria

by Fayr



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:35:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27609803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fayr/pseuds/Fayr
Summary: "While that was... Surprising. It's not. Not terribly uncommon.""Giles, I kissed you."
Relationships: Riley Finn/Buffy Summers, Rupert Giles/Buffy Summers, Tara Maclay/Willow Rosenberg
Comments: 2
Kudos: 59





	Hysteria

Giles guessed that, in the unlikely event he ever told the story, he would start at the beginning. It was, he supposed, a fairly normal day. After the loss of the school library to work out in he had moved the furniture in his living room to the side to allow boxing drills inside, as it tended to draw undue attention when Buffy beat his hands black and blue. She'd just landed a particularly difficult - for Giles - series of moves, ending with a spin kick that he just barely managed to block with his unarmored forearm.

"Buffy!" He'd cried. "That's-"

Enough, is what he'd meant to say. But he was cut off when Buffy took a decisive step forward, sneaking between his arms, grabbed him by the collar, and pulled him into a kiss. After a brief moment of not knowing what to do with his arms, he'd settled for wrapping one around her waist, the boxing glove still covering his hand clunking awkwardly against her hip.

She pulled back looking mortified. "Oh. Oh god, Giles, I'm sorry. 

"Uh, well. Uh." He said, dashingly. "Well. Uh."

"You said that already," she said, her mouth an embarrassed rictus.

"Yes, well. It's all very. Well. Uh. Yes."

"I messed up so bad that you're twice as British now. I'm going to go."

"Wait," he said. The hand that had just gripped his collar was now resting nervously on his chest, as light and skittish as a bird. "Uh. Look. Well. While that was... Surprising. It's not. Not terribly uncommon."

"Giles, I kissed you."

"Yes."

"That's uncommon. It's downright strange. Strange-tastic. Strange-apalooza."

"Uh, yes, well."

"You're 'well'-ing again," she said, extracting herself from his arms. "This was a mistake. A weird mistake. I'm sorry. I'm gone."

"Wait!" He said again. Too late, as she'd already slipped out the door, into the sunny afternoon.

What he'd wanted to tell her was that it was fine, things like this happened to slayers when their blood was up, especially now that she was in college and more... Sexually active than she'd ever been before. It was okay, and they were okay, and if anything had happened or not happened it would be entirely on her terms because she was the Slayer and he was the Watcher and he'd hadn't been completely unprepared for it because again it was all fine and these things happened sometimes.

Is what he'd wanted to say.

He'd had trouble forming the words in his mind into real sentences because when he'd tried to open his mouth he'd been very distracted by the taste of her chapstick on his lips. Strawberry.

* * *

It took about four days before Buffy would look him in the eyes again. Four painfully awkward days where she'd barely spoken to him and he'd been wracked with indecision about how best to go about talking about the kiss with her. On day five, when she'd met his eyes and given him a thin lipped smile while Willow vented on the woes of her history midterm from his coffee table, he'd made his decision.

Namely, not to talk to her at all.

* * *

Things became normal again rather quickly. He saw the girls, with Xander and Oz often in tow, semi regularly for study sessions, and Buffy alone every few days for training and patrols. They had long since resumed their easy relationship on the night that Buffy came over after a routine patrol across the campus. Giles, ever the night owl, was reading with his feet up on the couch when he heard a key turning in his locked door.

"Hey," Buffy said softly.

"Hello," he returned. Outwardly calm, he scanned her for injuries. Finding none, he smiled. "How are you?"

"Good-ish."

"Oh?"

"I staked a vamp. Nothing too harsh."

"But?"

"I'm not sure?" She said, her voice growing quieter. "I feel... Strange."

"Strange how?" He asked, setting the book down on the floor, a knot of worry forming in his stomach. 

"Jittery, I guess?" She said, beginning to pace back and forth as she spoke. "Like... Too much coffee but without the bad tummy? Like, okay, that vamp was kind of tough, but right when I started to pick up a rhythm he went and left an opening and got dusted like a serious newbie. The fight was just starting to get fun and he goes and gets right in front of the stake and I just get him like... Poof! I wasn't ready for poof! It wasn't the time to poof yet. There's nothing else around and I feel weird going back to the dorm like... This." Buffy threw up her hands and sulked over to the couch, flopping herself down as Giles quickly drew his feet away.

"So you came here," he said, understanding dawning on him.

"Yeah," she said, an unconscious pout lingering on her face.

"I'm flattered."

She slid, silently down the couch until her head rested squarely against his chest. Her hand came up and softly toyed with a button on his shirt.

"What do I do?" 

Giles found it difficult to answer around the lump that had formed in his throat. He settled for raising one had and stroking her hair. It was a delicate moment, and he didn't want to sway her in one direction or the other.

"Giles?" She said, lifting her head to look into his eyes. 

"Yes?"

She pressed their lips together, softly this time, her mouth sighing open against his. When he returned the kiss, she swung her leg over, straddling his lap as he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her flush against him. Her hands came to tangle themselves in his hair, tilting his head up to meet her.

He didn't think there would be much time to speak this time either. Pity. He'd had time to prepare his words finally, and may have actually gotten out more than 'well'.

Buffy pressed herself against him, her hips stuttering against his chest. She kissed him like she wanted to drown in him. He pushed the tips of his fingers up, under the hem of her top, testing the waters.

"I need..." Buffy whispered against his mouth. He quieted her with a kiss, undoing the front of her jeans and slipping his hand inside. She was groaning before he'd even started. He found her already wet, open and slick. It only took a few quirks of his fingers to send her over the edge, and she shuddered against him, then slowly melted. He removed his hand and held her, letting her rest against him.

She was quiet for so long that he thought she may have fallen asleep.

"Well," she said.

"Uh. Yes." He answered.

"That was..."

"Yes?"

"Nice."

Giles let out a long sigh of relief. "Good. Just nice?"

Buffy looked at him like he was stupid, as she was given to. "Nice is good!"

"Good," Giles returned. 

"Should I... ?" She said, her hand moving up his thigh.

"Not, uh. Not necessary."

"Oh."

"Not like that! It was lovely Buffy, but, well, you see-"

"Not you."

"Not me," Giles agreed.

"... Was I not-"

"No! No! It's not that. It's just... Not how things are done."

Buffy's brow furrowed. She laid her head back down, her hand toying with the button on Giles' shirt again.

* * *

"Holy stromboli, I have found a first class plane ticket to yucksville!" Xander cried gleefully across the room.

"Do go on," Giles said, not looking up from his book. He was sitting at his kitchen table with Buffy and Willow, all pouring over tomes. They were looking for a demon with seven claws on one hand, after Buffy had seen the scratch marks on a headstone on patrol. It was probably nothing, but as she'd said 'if it's pointy, I should know about it.'

Xander strutted into the kitchen with, of all things, an older copy of the Watcher's handbook. "What have you got?"

"Some old time-y Watcher stuff," Xander said.

"Is it useful?" Willow asked, slowly becoming exasperated as they had failed to find anything.

"It's good for morale."

"I'll allow it," Buffy said. Xander giggled and opened the book to a page headed 'Hysteria in Slayers'.

"Ah," Giles said, feeling a bit flush. Xander had found the Watcher's handbook from the early 1900s.

Willow took the book from him and began to read. "As a slayer matures and is no longer virginal, she may reach status as a woman of ill repute. She may, in the heat of battle, crave for male company in the way of an animal in heat. This must be remedied by her Watcher in a way that does not instigate pregnancy- oh! Oh, ew. I just got it."

"Why have you brought us this?" Buffy asked, dryly.

"There's diagrams!" Xander cried, turning the page with a flourish.

"Fun! At least you're learning," Buffy said, very stubbornly not looking at the book.

"Well, Buff, in the heat of battle, do you crave for male company?"

"It does explain Faith," Willow said, closing the book. She self-consciously wiped her hand on her shirt.

"Sure does," Buffy said, looking Xander up and down.

"So, Giles, how was hysteria class in Watcher school?" Xander asked, unmoved by her taunt.

"No longer taught, I'm afraid."

"Had to learn that one on your own time?"

Giles raised an eyebrow at him, finally setting his book down. "As a matter of fact..."

Xander cackled and at the same time Willow made a distinctly uncomfortable face. Buffy had no reaction at all, Giles was unable to not notice.

* * *

It was chilly, by California standards, as they weaved through the cemetery. Buffy carried her favorite crossbow, and Giles a small axe. Mostly for his sake, they stopped and leaned against the mausoleum for a rest.

“What are we even looking for?” Buffy asked.

“Nothing in particular.”

“Then I vote we go home.”

“Buffy, you haven’t patrolled in days.” he said, plaintively.

“It’s cold!” She insisted. “There’s no demons because they come up from Hell, where it’s warm, they feel the cold and they skedaddle.”

Gillies gave her a sour look. He understood her less by the hour.

“How ‘bout a nice hot cup of coffee? On me?” she asked.

“It’s two in the morning.”

“Decaf?”

He didn’t have time to dignify that with a response, as at that moment the vampire that had been hiding on the roof of the mausoleum jumped down, landing in front of them with a grunt. It grabbed Giles by the shoulder and pushed him away, stepping towards Buffy. She fired her crossbow and the bolt sailed over the vampire’s shoulder.

“Missed me,” it said.

Buffy stepped forward and punched it in the face. It took the punch and dove forward to grab her, but Giles struck it in the back with his axe. The vampire turned to snarl at him and Buffy dove to the side to grab the crossbow bolt from where it stuck out of the ground.

“Nuh uh,” she said, popping up to drive the bolt into its back.

The vampire dissolved, leaving them face to face. Buffy locked eyes with him, her breathing slightly elevated. A bolt of electricity shot through Giles, and he was unable to look away.

“There may be another vampire,” he said.

“There isn’t.” 

Suddenly she was in his arms, standing on her toes to kiss him, but still pressing him back into the wall of the mausoleum so firmly that he’d no hope of escaping. Not that he was interested in escaping. 

* * *

Another night. Buffy lay curled against his chest, running her hand slowly up and down his stomach, between the two unbuttoned halves of his shirt. His hand stroked her hair, and he thought she might be near sleep. 

Sometimes they fell asleep like this, her soft and warm and smelling of sweat. Sometimes, if they woke up together in the mornings she would take his face in her hands, lay a single, soft kiss on his lips, and smile before she left. Sometimes, Giles found his hands shaking as he made himself his morning cup of tea and cursed himself for being so foolish.

Buffy's hand moved slower and slower, then stilled. He could feel her breath on his skin as she slept and he did not.

* * *

"Duck!" He instructed, jabbing out with the staff.

"Don't tell me to -" Buffy ducked, "- duck, we've done this one before."

"Could've fooled me," Giles said, returning the staff to his side, briefly, before spinning it out towards her again.

Buffy snatched the staff from his hands. "I'm a little off today. Sue me."

" 'A little off' can easily get you killed, Buffy."

"I'm fine when I've had more sleep. It's midterms, Giles. I'm tired."

"Understandable." He sighed. "But, I don't think I'll be seeing you again until next week, so one more run through."

Buffy groaned. "All work and no play make Buffy a dull slayer."

"One more," he said. She started her pout again, but he stared back at her, unmoved. After a moment she handed the staff back to him and took her stance. 

Gratified, Giles held the staff in both hands, his arms wide and out. They started into sequence, Buffy elegantly dodging as Giles struck out at her, first with one end, then the other. They weaved around each other, in a fast and technical dance. He flailed out, hoping to catch her off guard, but she caught the move with her forearm, then twisted her wrist to take hold of the staff in her hand, and finished by placing a kick squarely in the center of his chest. He landed on the ground, the wind knocked from him entirely.

"Ow," he said, handsomely.

"Buffy do good?" She asked, grinning.

"Buffy do very good," he coughed.

"You know, Giles, that was actually pretty fun."

"Lovely."

"You know what else might be fun?" Before he knew it, she was dropping to her knees next to him. She rolled his head towards her by the chin, and met his mouth with hers. Dizzily, Giles laid his hand on the back of her neck, sliding it up into her hair. She made a happy nose in response. Her hand sat firmly on his chest, a gentle reminder of her strength. "Lie back."

He did as he was told, a kind of nervous thrill running through him. Her hand pressed him down into his rug. "Close your eyes."

"I," he said. He knew he needed to say something, but his mind had gone completely blank. Well, not blank exactly, but there weren't any words in it.

"Close your eyes," she repeated, using her stern voice.

"Buffy," he said, obeying. She shushed him and stroked her hands lightly down his torso. For all the times he'd made her come she'd never touched him like this, at his own insistence. His mind knew that he should stop her, though he couldn't quite recall why. His body, however, was slowly catching fire everywhere her fingers touched. She had pushed his jumper up and was trailing her fingernails across his skin, over his chest and stomach. It was driving him mad. Her hands traveled down, slowly, very slowly, until they reached the waistband of his jeans and she tucked her fingers inside. "We mustn't."

"I want to," she said. He felt her lean into him, her long hair pooling in his lap before she pressed a kiss into his hip. Her fingers found the button of his fly and popped it open, searching for a part of him that was very eager to meet her indeed.

"I -I," he said, his eyes opening nearly against his will. "Buffy, I'm sorry, I can't… this isn't…"

His eyes met hers and he felt his heart break as he saw a flash of pain there.

"Oh, it's. Yeah," she said.

"I'm sorry. It's-"

"No, no, it's okay."

"It's not like-"

"Giles," she said, using her stern voice again. "I understand."

His mouth moved wordlessly as he tried to order his thoughts in a way where any of them would leave his mouth. Any at all. If he could just tell her that she meant the world to him and that he wanted to, by god did he want to, but he couldn't because he didn't know how to keep it separate anymore and that the only thing holding him to his sanity was that it was a service that he did for her because he wanted to do anything for her as his Slayer but if he slept with her than she would be a woman to him and he was afraid that as a woman she was too much for him and so maybe it was best that they didn't cross that particular line until he was twenty years younger and stronger and good enough for her.

"I think I should go," Buffy said. She pressed a kiss to his lips and she was gone.

* * *

Not very long later Giles was being introduced to Buffy's new boyfriend while feeling very uncomfortable at a birthday party. He knew his mouth was hanging open very attractively but found himself quite unable to stop it as he shook hands with Riley. Riley, who was twenty five, built like a tank, and seemed overall like a very smart and respectful young man. He was also slightly taller than Giles.

Giles, completely unable to help himself, hated him utterly. 

"Nice to meet you, sir," Riley said. "Buffy's told me a lot about you."

Giles thought that Buffy probably had not told him even half as much as there was to tell, especially not that Giles was madly in love with her and didn't know how to tell her and absolutely would not attempt to now.

"Nice to meet you as well," is thankfully what came out of Giles' mouth.

* * *

"Get him in," Buffy ordered Xander. Giles was suspended between them, each arm around one of their shoulders while they maneuvered him into his bathroom. His legs weren't quite working right and every jolt of his feet made him hiss with pain. They lowered him fully dressed into the empty bathtub, with Xander at his feet and Buffy's hands hooked under his arms. Xander turned on the water and the cold spray from the showerhead startled a cry out of him. 

Willow charged in behind them with several mugs from his kitchen and handed one each to Buffy and Xander. They began to catch the water from the shower and pour it directly down his torso, washing out the wound under his ruined shirt.

The four of them had been out on patrol, trying to give themselves a bit of much needed bonding time on what was meant to be a slow night. Even after they'd joined consciousness to defeat Adam there were still a few rough spots in their relationships, however, meaning that Giles had been attempting to get Willow and Xander to stop bickering and didn't quite notice when they'd accidentally encroached on the nest of an Arcleth demon. 

Arcleths, being about three feet tall and relatively docile, were not usually considered dangerous. Except during mating season, when they became extremely territorial and developed an ability to spit acid. Giles had grabbed Willow by the wrist and pulled her away just in time for a large glob of sticky, orange bile to slap onto him. His clothes began to lightly smoke.

"We have to go now," he'd said.

Luckily the acid had been contained mostly to his clothing, and he'd been wearing two layers. It had only been about a block from his house when he'd felt his skin start to burn. 

"I think it's gone," Willow said, pouring another cupful of water down his front. The last dregs of yellow, foaming water swirled down the drain.

"Yes," Giles said weakly. "I don't feel as if I'm being digested anymore."

Xander sighed in relief, letting his head fall into his hands, his hair wet and sticking up in all directions.

"I'm sorry, Giles," Willow said. She reached into the tub and took his hand. He gave hers a squeeze and closed his eyes.

"Me too," Xander said.

"Guys, it's not time for the pity party," Buffy said, still crouched behind him. "Willow, bandages. Xander, get Giles some dry clothes. And blankets. He's freezing."

Giles noticed after she'd said it that he was trembling. From cold as well as the pain. Willow and Xander scrambled out of the room to follow Buffy's orders, and that was when he finally opened his eyes and looked down at himself. It could have been much worse. His chest looked as though he'd been sandblasted, but no real damage had been done. Hurt like a bastard, though. His clothes hung in wet tatters, his shirt and jacket more or less gone and the waistband of his jeans only held together by his leather belt.

"You scared me," Buffy said, shifting around into his field of vision. A lock of hair was soaked and sticking to her jaw and her eyes were wild. She reached out a hand and laid it against his cheek and he shivered. Her hands were cold, the silver ring on her thumb like an ice chip on his skin.

"I'm alright, Buffy," he said, trying to smile.

"No you're not," she said, trying to smile back.

"No, I'm not."

Buffy leaned in and kissed him, her lips soft and cold. Giles held her wrist to his cheek, not trusting himself to do any more than that. She pulled back and rested her forehead against his for a moment. She smelled like sweat, adrenaline, and faintly like perfume.

"Bandages!" Willow said, running in and holding up Giles' first aid kit.

* * *

Giles heard the key scrape in the lock and headed down the stairs, throwing a shirt on to cover the wound on his chest.

"Hello?" He called. He hadn't been expecting anyone, but he'd given keys to Buffy, Willow and Xander in case of emergencies. Besides, he didn't think that many beings would try to break into his house, given how often the slayer was here.

"Hi."

"Buffy! To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Giles stepped off the staircase and turned the corner to see her. She met his eyes with a smile. 

"I missed you," she said.

Giles felt himself smiling. "Oh. Tea?"

"Please," Buffy said, and took off her coat. Giles padded to the kitchen, and started busying himself with the kettle, taking her favorite purple mug from the back of the cabinet.

"Rough patrol?" Giles asked lightly. He was trying very hard not to let on how positively giddy he felt. He hadn't spent any time alone with Buffy since... Well, since he'd rejected her. Not that he expected anything to happen tonight. But he had missed her, achingly so, and she missed him, and he was going to make her tea and they could talk and maybe things would go back to the way they were before, not in every way, but in the ways where he felt close to her and important to her life.

"I didn't patrol tonight," she said.

"You're out late, then."

"Couldn't sleep."

Giles sat down on the opposite end of the couch and handed her her mug of tea. "Oh?"

"Yeah," she said.

"Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

"There is."

"Go on," Giles said, smiling gently.

"We never talked about the… _hysteria_."

"Wha- oh."

They sat in excruciating silence, Giles staring at his hands and Buffy looking off to his left.

"What. Um. Did. Did you want to?" Giles stammered. "Talk about it, I mean."

"Yeah," Buffy said, and took a long sip of her tea.

"I, um. I. What did you want to say?"

"I'm sorry, I guess," Buffy said, finally meeting his eyes.

"What?"

"I'm sorry. I took advantage of you, and it wasn't right."

"What?"

Buffy frowned. "I put a lot of thought into it and I feel terrible. it wasn't fair of me to ask you to… do that, and you were always so… sweet about it and I just kept doing it but the more I think about it the more I know that-"

"Buffy," Giles said, cutting her off. "That's not what happened."

"It's not?" She huffed. Her eyes were starting to glisten, as if she was on the verge of tears. Giles reached out and placed a hand over hers.

"No."

"Then why did you… why didn't you let me…?"

"It's complicated," he said.

"Make it uncomplicated," Buffy said, scooting closer to him. Giles felt heat on the back of his neck. He could smell her shampoo.

Giles opened his mouth to tell her that of course he wanted her, not just because she was one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen, but because she was kind and good and confusing and strong and just too, too much for an old retired librarian like him. That when she left he'd always licked the taste of her off his hands. That he thought about her when he fell asleep and when he woke up and when he breathed.

"I am in love with you," is what came out.

He watched the emotions flicker across her face. Confusion, sadness, and a few others he couldn't identify.

"Oh."

Giles sighed, letting himself deflate like a balloon, and let out a shaky laugh. He found that now he couldn't meet her eyes, and went back to examining his hands.

"I really didn't see that coming," Buffy said.

"I'm sorry," Giles said. "I should have told you sooner. It's why we couldn't… it would have been too hard."

Buffy leaned forward and titled his chin upwards. He closed his eyes, still unable to look at her. She pressed a soft kiss to his cheek, and one to his temple.

"I want to talk about this. Tomorrow. There's something I need to do tonight."

Giles nodded, his mouth suddenly dry.

* * *

On his uncharacteristic third cup of coffee, Giles was feeling very alert. He hadn’t slept. Of course he hadn’t slept. He wanted to be awake when he spoke with Buffy, and with sleep not being a possibility, well, the coffee was an imperfect solution.

She couldn’t feel the same as he did. He would have known.

Giles had spent a few hours trying to sleep, then finally taken a shower and gotten the newspaper off of his front porch, then stared at it for a few hours without actually reading it. He’d had his first cup of coffee and switched to a research book on fifth dimensional magical physics, read the same paragraph seven times, had his second cup of coffee, and switched instead to a personal book about the Peloponnesian War.

Buffy was seeing someone. She wouldn’t have done that if she had feelings for him.

He grabbed his guitar from its hiding place and sat down with it, his fingers idly plucking strings. Giles played a smattering of notes, and stared off.

Riley. Buffy’s boyfriend’s name was Riley. He looked like a caricature of a handsome man. Buffy had a lot of very obvious sex with him, often, and had no qualms about hiding it from him. There was no way Buffy was interested in Giles with her handsome soldier boyfriend that appeared to have the stamina of an ox.

But what if she was?

Giles set his guitar down on the coffee table. He hadn't been playing it for some time.

He’d gotten his third cup of coffee and, in utter defeat, flicked on the telly.

A knock on his door. 

Giles was on his feet in seconds. He peeped through the window and saw Willow’s red hair. He plastered a smile on his face before he opened the door.

“Morning!” Giles said.

“It’s two thirty,” Willow said, looking puzzled.

Giles blinked. “Must’ve lost track of time. Come on in.”

“I just came to check up on you,” Willow said, her hands wringing the strap of her bag.

“I’m doing quite alright,” Giles said, self consciously touching the bandage that crept up his neck from his chest.

“Don’t take this the wrong way… but you don’t look so hot.”

Giles smiled again, preparing to lie and tell her that he was fine. “I didn’t sleep well.”

“Poor thing,” Willow said, motioning him to sit on the couch. “Is it that painful?”

“No, not at all. It’s mostly itchy.”

“Want me to get you anything? Make you something to eat? Takeout?”

Giles chuckled. “No, but thank you.”

Willow put a hand on his shoulder, pushing him gently towards the couch. He sat, and she bustled over to the kitchen. “How are you healing?”

“Well,” Giles said, relaxing for what felt like the first time in days. Normally, he didn’t like to be fussed over, but he had been wound so tightly that it felt lovely to have someone else do his worrying for him. Besides, it was Willow, and she had always been his favorite.

“Good! It’s not every day you get sprayed with demon acid.”

“Not _every_ day,” Giles agreed.

Willow laughed, and emerged from the kitchen with a glass of water. “Want anything while I’m up?”

“I’m fine.” Willow rolled her eyes and sat down with him. “How’s Tara?”

“She’s good,” Willow said, with that secretive smile she got when she talked about her girlfriend. “We’re doing good.”

“Glad to hear it.”

“Did you hear that Buffy and Riley broke up?”

Giles nearly choked on the sip of coffee he’d been taking. “What?”

Willow’s eyes lit up as she grinned, indulging in the taste of fresh gossip. “Last night. Buffy didn’t say why but she’s not like… sad about it. No mopey. I think she’s got a new special somebody already.”

“Really?”

“Really. She curled her hair this morning.”

“... She doesn’t do that when she’s mopey?”

Willow scoffed. “Do you even look at her?”

Giles, knowing that he looked at Buffy a lot more than perhaps anyone else, shrugged.

“Well, she doesn’t. Only when she’s, y’know, flirty. Or trying to impress someone.”

“Do you know who it is?”

“Not at all,” Willow said, a wicked grin on her face. “My money’s on a lady.”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah. All the signs. I would know. She was staying out late, like, all the time, but she wouldn’t tell me where and she never talked about anyone new, but she was acting like, all happy and new relationship-y. Then she was sad for a little while and she was staying in again, but then she started dating Riley, and I thought, ‘yeah, it had to be him,’ but she never said that it was, and I already knew Riley so why wouldn’t she have just told me who she was dating? Because it was a secret! Because lady!”

“... I see.”

“Right? I mean, why else wouldn’t she tell me who she was seeing? It’s not like we really keep secrets from each other like that, except when I was starting to date Tara and didn’t want to tell anyone because of the... gay thing.”

“So you think that she’s going back to this, um. This person she was seeing before?”

“Oh yeah. She was humming, too. She’s way excited.”

Giles felt a smile one his face. A big, goofy, unreasonable smile. 

“I knew you didn’t like Riley,” Willow said.

“I never said that out loud.”

* * *

After Willow left, Giles felt much, much better. So much better, in fact, that he fell asleep on his couch, the book about the Peloponnesian war open across his chest. His eyes fluttered open when he heard the creak of his door, and he had just enough time to see Buffy step inside. Her hair was indeed curled, and she wore a long coat.

“Hey.”

“Hi,” Giles said, suavely. 

He ran a hand through his hair, hoping against hope that it hadn’t settled strangely in his sleep. He felt an unnatural urge to stand, and so he did, stepping towards Buffy, but not quite getting close enough to touch her.

“Good nap?” Buffy teased.

“I didn’t sleep well,” Giles said.

“Me neither.”

“I, uh. I spoke to Willow.”

“Oh. So… she gave you the low-down.”

“Yes, I believe she did.”

Buffy stopped, frowning. “You know what? No. I’m done with this.”

“Pardon?”

“This,” she said, waving her hands in front of her. “This thing we keep doing where we imply what we mean instead of just saying it.”

“Okay,” Giles said. She stared at him defiantly for a moment, then took a deep breath.

“The first time it happened I wasn’t sure why, but then Xander showed us that hysteria thing and I thought ‘okay, that’s what this is, Giles is just getting me off because it’s a gross outdated Watcher thing,’ but then you would hold me, and sleep next to me and, in a shocking turn of events, still talk to me in the morning, so I thought that maybe it was more. Which is why I wanted to get you off for once. To prove to myself that it was real. And then you turned me down and I was like ‘okay, Buffy, guess that Giles is just a nice person that doesn’t want to have sex with you, move on.’ And then I did and you were always weird with Riley and then I thought you were going to to die and I realised that I… Missed you. I missed kissing you, and being held by you.”

Buffy stepped closer, and without thinking he wrapped his arms around her, drawing her close. 

“Then you told me you loved me,” she said, whispering now. Their eyes were locked together. He couldn’t look away if he wanted to, and he never wanted to. Buffy’s breath smelled faintly of lip gloss and toothpaste. “So I broke it off with Riley, because I think I might love you too.”

Giles was kissing her before he had even really heard what she said. He cupped his hand around the back of her head, threading his fingers through her hair while she grabbed the front of his jumper and clutched it hard in her hand.

“Did I miss anything?” she asked, breathlessly.

“Not that I can think of.”

“Good,” she said, opening her coat to reveal that she wore nothing underneath. “Because I’m done talking.”

That was it, as they say.


End file.
